Family of Three
by canadiandutchiefangirl
Summary: Starkid - The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Paul Matthews x Bill Bill is stressed and tired about the divorce and Paul is there for him. Both think that their feelings for each other are unrequited. Both are wrong. Wrote this for secret snape on the SCC Discord. Fluff with a bit of angst. First kiss


Paul heard the key turn in the lock and looked up from the book he had been reading. Little Alice lay with her head in his lap, blanket covering her, fast asleep. Bill smiled as he came in, eyes tired. Paul smiled back and gestured at Alice for him to be quiet.

Quietly, Bill pulled off his coat and abandoned his shoes haphazardly at the door before collapsing into an armchair. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

Paul looked at him with a sympathetic smile. "How'd it go?"

Bill sighed. "It's done. It's finally done."

Alice stirred slightly and Bill's exhausted face softened.

"We should probably get her to bed," said Paul quietly.

Bill was about to rise from the chair, but Paul stopped him. "I got it," he said with a small smile. Gently, he picked Alice up from where she lay on the couch. As he carried her up the stairs, he heard Bill's quiet, familiar snore.

Just as he was tucking her into bed, her eyes fluttered open. "Uncle Paul?" she asked. "Is Daddy home?"

"Uh," Paul hesitated. "he's really tired, Alice. You'll see him tomorrow morning."

"Am I gonna have to go to Mom soon?" she asked, pulling the blankets around her.

Paul crouched beside her bed. "I don't know. But you can ask your dad in the morning."

"Will you be here in the morning?" she asked.

Paul looked down at the floor, almost blushing at the implication of that. "No, sweetie, I need to go back to my house." Seeing her disappointment, he quickly added, "But I'll be by soon, not to worry."

Alice lay back, a contented smile on her face. "Daddy's always happier when you're around."

Paul smiled softly as she drifted back to sleep. "I'm happier when your dad's around too."

When Paul got up to leave, he saw Bill leaning in the doorway, a strange look on his face. Quietly, the descended the stars and went into the kitchen. Bill sat at the table as Paul turned on the coffee machine.

"Thanks so much for taking care of Alice tonight, Paul," Bill said. "You're a lifesaver."

"Oh, no problem," Paul said, grabbing two mugs from the cabinet; he had been here so many times that he knew the kitchen almost as well as Bill did.

"Not just tonight," Bill continued. "You've been here through the whole divorce process. I don't know how I would've been able to handle it on my own."

Paul smiled at Bill. "Of course, Bill, you're my best friend."

"Yeah," Bill said quietly, looking down at the table.

The was silence in the kitchen for a little while, save for the sound of the coffee machine. Paul took a seat at the end of the table, beside Bill. He didn't say anything.

Finally, Bill broke the silence. "You never asked what went wrong between Kendra and me."

Paul looked up at him curiously. "I figured you'd tell me if you wanted to."

Bill nodded and the quiet settled again. The coffee was done, and Paul got up to pour them both a cup. As Paul took his first sip, he caught Bill looking at him.

"What?" he asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Nothing," Bill murmured. "No, it's… nothing."

The corner of Paul's mouth rose. "What is it?"

What it was, was that Bill realized how natural and normal this all seemed. He and Paul putting Alice to bed, then debriefing after a long day. Paul fit so easily into his and Alice's lives, but not quite in the way he wished he did. Because to Alice, he was Uncle Paul, and to Bill, he was just his best friend.

"It was me," Bill said finally. "It was my fault the marriage didn't work out."

"Don't say that," Paul said, setting his coffee down and facing Bill. "It takes two to… divorce."

Bill smiled a little.

"You did your best," Paul continued. "Besides, you and Kendra got married so young. You probably hardly knew who you were at the time."

"Yeah, that's true," Bill said. "But, still…"

"And you have always been there for Alice –"

"I got distant, Paul," Bill interrupted. "I realized that maybe she wasn't, you know, the one for me." He paused. "Or even the type for me," he added quietly.

"You didn't cheat –"

"No, of course not," Bill said quickly. "But I may have, possibly, thought about it?"

"Oh," said Paul.

"Yeah," said Bill. "It's just… they were so good with Alice, you know? And always there and just in front of me the whole time, to the point that it's ridiculous how long it took me to figure out how I truly felt."

Paul nodded sympathetically. "They sound pretty great. Maybe now you can pursue it."

As Paul drained his mug, Bill looked over at him with a small smile. "Yeah, well, I'm not sure they see me that way."

"Then they don't know what they're missing," said Paul. He looked at the clock. "Damn, is that the time?" He looked over at Bill. "I hope you don't mind if I…?"

"Of course," said Bill, standing up. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," said Paul. "I promised Alice, so I'll be here." He gave Bill a friendly clap on the back before heading out the door.

Bill watched the door close and stood still for a moment and sighed, before bringing the mugs to the sink.

Paul had almost reached his car when the realization hit him. "Oh my God," he said and quickly rushed back inside.

Bill stood at the counter, rinsing the cups. When he heard Paul's footsteps, he turned around in surprise.

"Just for clarification," said Paul, a little out of breath, although he hadn't run far at all. "The person you're taking about is…?"

"You, Paul," said Bill, a smile widening across his features. "It's you."

For a moment, Paul stood still, a shuddering breath in his lungs. Then he rushed forward, gently taking Bill's face between his hands. Then he stopped. They were a breath apart, their exhales mingling with every nervous outbreath.

Bill looked into Paul's pale blue eyes and saw the question there. Should they take this leap? Should they go beyond this already great friendship they had for a possible not-platonic something? Was the risk worth it?

In that moment Bill decided that it most certainly was and closed the short distance between them. They shared a short, caste kiss before breaking apart for a moment. Then they deepened the kiss, Bill's arms wrapping around Paul's waist. The kiss was soft and warm and felt like home and everything Bill had hoped kissing would be but hadn't been before now.

As for Paul; he couldn't believe his luck. Out of all the people he was not meeting in his barely existent social life, the only one he'd needed was the one he didn't even have to work hard to get to know. Everything flowed so easily between them, this just seemed like the natural next step.

The next morning, when Alice came downstairs, it was not just Bill sitting at the breakfast table with bed hair and sleepy eyes, but Paul too. And once she had told him she was happy he had stayed, the morning went on as though this was routine.

Alice smiled at both of them in a way that almost made them wonder if she had known all along. For obviously, she couldn't have.


End file.
